Chapter 5 Engagement I am Yan Xue, and I am here to marry you.
Qi Fang had once been engaged as a child, but not many people knew about this.
After all, they were still young at the time, he was only twelve and the other was only ten, and they had only met once.
Most of the time, he lived with his grandfather outside the Great Wall, rarely returning to Beijing. Although they occasionally corresponded, he liked to talk about what he had learned recently, while his grandfather liked to tell him about every detail of food, clothing, and the troubles of a young girl. They really couldn't talk to each other, so gradually, they stopped communicating.
When the incident happened, he hadn't received any letters from the other party for three years.
The other family's attitude of avoiding suspicion is also very obvious. They are afraid that any involvement will bring trouble to their own family. Naturally, he will not rush to cause trouble for others.
Unexpectedly, a few days ago, he suddenly received a letter from the other party's family, asking him for the original engagement deed between the two families. That would have been fine, but perhaps because they were afraid that he would not give it, they deliberately mentioned his family.
Qi Fang was not stupid, so how could he not see the threat in those words...
He lowered his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, "I sent the things by mail."
It was very cold, even with a hint of irony. However, the snow was so heavy, and there was a noise not far away, that Yan Xue didn't notice. After a slight surprise, she thought he was talking about the 100 yuan betrothal gift. Although she was a little puzzled as to why he suddenly brought it up, she still said, "Yes, I received it."
So why did she come? To see how miserable he was?
The arc of sarcasm was also flattened. Qi Fang stared at the girl not far away, with only a pair of eyes exposed, and did not speak for a long time.
Yan Xue had heard that the other party didn't talk much, especially since they met under such circumstances. She took a few steps forward and said, "You're much prettier now than when you were a child."
The tone is very relaxed and the praise is very generous. In other scenarios, it would definitely be an opening remark that can set the mood.
But Qi Fang felt confused when he heard it. He even suspected that the other party had some very vicious words waiting for him and needed to praise him first to catch him off guard.
This made his eyes even colder. "Just say what you want to say. I still have work to do."
He seems a bit straight and not very good at speaking...
Yan Xue said that the other person was so good-looking and had a job, so there should be no shortage of people who would be interested in him, so she had to go back to her hometown to find a partner.
She nodded, "Okay, I won't waste your time."
Qi Fang's eyelids drooped, and his eyes turned to the side nonchalantly, ready to leave no matter what the other party said. But the girl opposite him stretched out a small hand tightly wrapped in a glove, "Hello, Comrade Qi Fang, let me formally introduce myself. I am Yan Xue, and I am here to marry you."
Come and marry him???
Qi Fang suddenly stopped, and when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with surprise.
He once again looked at the petite girl in front of him and said, "Please think this through carefully."
Marriage is not a joke. She cannot make a decision casually based on her momentary willfulness or sympathy, especially after her family has clearly asked for a breakup.
Yan Xue narrowed her eyes, and her round, bright eyes instantly turned into crescents. "I'm here now, so I must have thought it through."
Originally, she had been attracted by the other person's suitable conditions. She had called it a blind date, but she was just afraid that there might be something about him that she couldn't accept, so she left a way out. Now that she had met him, although his temperament was a little cold and he wasn't very talkative, he was indeed very good-looking. He must be a good person to take the risk to win people's hearts. She had no regrets.
Yan Xue smiled and raised her face, "Or do you want to regret it?"
She was petite, with her head not even reaching Qi Fang's chin, which made her only exposed eyes look even bigger and more beautiful, with thick and long frosty eyelashes.
Qi Fang stared silently at the little hand stretched out in front of him for a long while, then suddenly turned around and left, "Wait, I'll go ask for leave."
The most obvious advantage of being tall is long legs. It took Yan Xue half a day to walk the distance, but he arrived in no time.
Liu Daniu, the team leader in charge of this team, was on the slope watching people lowering logs. When he saw him coming up, he was about to ask him something, but he had already spoken, "I have something to do and have to leave first. Mark me as leaving early today."
Qi Fang has been at the forest farm for more than two years. Not only has he been late or left early, he has never left during the holidays. It's as if he popped out of a stone.
It was rare for him to ask for leave, so Liu Daniu didn't ask and just waved his hand, "It's almost time to get off work, why are you leaving early?"
"Then I'll go." Qi Fang nodded, and walked down the same way again. His expression had completely returned to normal.
He took Yan Xue to the camp's dormitory, a row of cellars built close to the hillside.
This type of building is a specialty of high-altitude cold regions. When building, a rectangular pit one or two meters deep is dug into the ground, and then the pillars are erected, and a pointed roof is erected above the ground. Because the terrain is low and not affected by the cold, it is much warmer than buildings built on the ground, and can even reach temperatures above zero.
Built against the mountain, firstly, it saves labor by not having to dig all the way down; secondly, it is more concealed after being covered with branches and snow, and cannot be seen from a distance.
Back in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, General Yang and his men lived in this kind of underground cellar. There wasn't much need for concealment in the forest farm, but the logging area changed every winter, basically changing once a year. Digging this cellar was both convenient and convenient for heating.
Yan Xue followed the other person down a few steps and immediately felt the temperature was different from outside.
With the help of the light from the door, she looked inside and found that the space was about ten square meters.
There were more than ten luggage rolls lined up on the big bunk bed inside. Those who know this dormitory for a group of rough men know that there is not much odor, but it can only be said that the temperature is not high enough.
Qi Fang put the safety helmet he took off in one of the places, indicating that Yan Xue could sit there, and he went to light the kerosene lamp first.
Yan Xue guessed that this should be his bed. To be honest, it was very clean and stood out among the bedding that was rubbed to a shine. It was obvious that he had good hygiene habits.
Qi Fang was squatting and lighting a tin stove in the middle of the room. Seeing her looking around, he blew out the match in his hand indifferently, "This is the condition here."
Not to mention a delicate city-bred girl like her, few girls in the mountains could endure such hardship. Aside from the lighter work of measuring, the rest of the logging crew, including felling, shaving, and transporting, were all dominated by men.
Yan Xue felt it was not so bad. Compared with her previous life in another memory, the conditions in both the rural areas inside the Great Wall and the forest areas outside the Great Wall were not much better.
She patted the snow off her trouser legs to prevent it from melting and soaking her cotton pants. "Did you live in the mountains all winter?"
His tone sounded like he really wanted to know, not just using it as a starting point for a conversation, and he didn't seem to be as disgusted with the simple conditions as one might imagine.
Compared to when she was a child, she was obviously much better at hiding her emotions. Unlike their first meeting, when she was initially filled with a bit of naive curiosity, she later revealed her impatience when she saw that he was talking very little and fiddling with things that didn't interest her. She even asked her mother in a self-proclaimed covert way when he could come home, saying that she wanted to go home for ice cream.
Qi Fang raised his eyelids calmly, "We have to go into the mountains as early as October to build the railway track and the house."
Yes, the logging areas are redefined every year. If we don’t lay small railway tracks first, the goods cannot be transported here.
Yan Xue nodded. Over there, Qi Fang threw the chopped firewood into the iron stove, clapped his hands, stood up, and leaned against the doorpost opposite her. "Does your family know about this?"
He had some suspicion that the other party had sneaked out, but he didn't know where she got the letter of introduction to deal with the inspections along the way.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xue said, "I know. My grandma and my brother both know." She answered in a very serious tone.
This made Qi Fang's gaze unconsciously fall on her face, and he began to ponder the meaning of his words.
To be honest, Qi Fang was a little surprised, but he didn't mention his parents. It should be that the Yan family had different opinions on whether to cancel the engagement. Some wanted to follow the wind, while others wanted to keep their promise.
But he had clearly agreed to cancel the engagement, yet they still sent her here to suffer. Should we say they were too rigid or too naive?
Qi Fang didn't say anything for a while. Yan Xue didn't know if he had finished asking questions. Since he didn't speak, she asked first, "Do you want to go back on your word?" and asked the same question again.
If so, although it is a bit troublesome, she is not the type to force it.
"No." Qi Fang responded quickly this time, but his expression was half hidden in the dim light of the kerosene lamp, making it difficult to distinguish.
I didn't intend to go back on my word. It was out of seriousness that I first asked her what she thought, and then asked for her family's opinion...
Yan Xue noticed that although this man often half-closed his eyes, looking unconcerned and uninterested, and leaned lazily against the doorpost, he was still quite careful and serious in his work. At least, his repeated confirmation of the woman's willingness was a very gentlemanly act, unlike the typical male chauvinism of this era.
She exhaled in the gradually warming room. "I want to ask, what can the families of forestry workers here do? Can they find jobs?"
Since neither side wants to go back on their word, this is what she cares about most. After all, this is the foundation of her life and determines whether she can gain a firm foothold in the future and bring her brother over.
And caring about this means that she really plans to live here in the future. Qi Fang has to believe it no matter how hard he tries to believe it.
Looking at the face that had become blurry in his memory and then clear again, he was about to speak when the sound of footsteps on snow gradually came from outside. Someone rushed down and pushed open the door. "It's snowing so damn heavily today..."
After he finished speaking, he noticed two people, one standing and one sitting, in the room and was stunned.
After a while, the other party withdrew his gaze from Yan Xue's face and hurriedly explained: "I came back to get something and didn't notice that there was someone in the room."
He quickly walked to the table in the corner to get his lunch box and was about to leave. But before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Yan Xue again and asked Qi Fang in a low voice: "Your sister?"
It’s not that he didn’t think about other things, but there was no ambiguity between the two of them. Qi Fang was as cold and indifferent as ever, and Yan Xue didn’t seem embarrassed at all.
Faced with his curiosity that was almost condensed into substance, Qi Fang did not explain further, "Has work already been completed?"
"Our team worked faster and arrived a little earlier." Seeing that Qi Fang didn't deny it, the other party felt that he understood. "You guys chat, I'm leaving first."
Neither of them was the type to show off in front of others, so they waited until the footsteps faded away before continuing with the previous topic.
"you……"
"you……"
Just as I opened the door, there was a bang and someone else came in. "I need to get something!"
He explained too hastily and proactively, and even took the pretext of looking for something to secretly glance at Yan Xue several times. No one would believe him if he said he knew something.
Not only him, but two more young heads popped in from the door.
These two probably weren't from this dormitory. When they saw Qi Fang and Yan Xue coming over, they immediately said that there was no water in the thermos in their room and came over to borrow some.
Then after he finished speaking, he realized that he had said he wanted to borrow water, but he didn't even have a kettle, so he hurried back to get it.
In such a hurry, they forgot to close the door when they left. Yan Xue clearly heard the two of them whisper to others after they went up, "She is beautiful."
It was a bit unexpected, but not very unexpected.
There are few women in the mountains, and the logging team is full of rough men. It would be strange if no one was curious when such a young and beautiful girl suddenly appeared.
It's just that these people have been working in an open space for too long, and they basically communicate by shouting, and a lot of work requires them to shout slogans. Even if they deliberately lower their voices, they are still really loud...
Yan Xue glanced at Qi Fang and found that the man seemed speechless, and his bony fingers pressed against his eyebrows.
This time, after the others left, the two of them remained silent for even longer, as if they were both afraid that if they spoke, someone else would come in.
After a while, Yan Xue couldn't help laughing, "Your colleagues are quite interesting."
Only a young lady who has never suffered hardship would not understand the meaning of such conditions, yet she could still naively say that it was interesting...
Qi Fang twitched the corner of his mouth and was about to say something when he heard footsteps approaching.
This time, even his usually cold tone was tinged with impatience, "What else?"
"I..." Being stared at by those eyes that suddenly glanced at him, the visitor stuttered, "There is something..."
Before he could finish his words, someone behind him patted him on the head. "Why are you still arguing with me? What's wrong with you? There's an accident in the work area."
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